Root node of my posts
post by AtillaYasar (atillayasar) · 2024-11-19T20:09:02.973Z · LW · GW · 0 commentsContents
Why Empirical Root node -- feedback loops Defeating addictive algorithms -- healthy energy funnel Why publish Predictions for this post 19-11-2024 None No comments
Why
I believe that philosophy without a traceable practical impact is impotent. [LW(p) · GW(p)]
The easier it is to find your writings, the more likely it is that you re-read them, and that they have an impact on you.
Also, I just enjoy the feeling of having a grand project I'm working on, rather than dumping off random bouts of enthusiastic writing. (tho that's pretty fun)
It's also a rebellion against how Twitter works, where people just write shit with barely any consequences [LW(p) · GW(p)].
Empirical
Here, I'll collect observations I have about how I feel about this post, because, "knowing the territory requires patient and direct observation" [? · GW].
- I become very happy when I finish writing a post, and when I spend time thinking about things I've written, and when I talk to Claude about things I'm writing. I've also been less and less compelled to scroll Twitter and Youtube, since I started writing on LessWrong.
- This morning I was looking forward to reading this, did so, and replaced a text chunk with a link to this [LW(p) · GW(p)].
- It seems that I'm able to read this with fresh eyes, for example just now I read the opening and was like, "wait what? you didn't even say what this post is, but you're already explaining it?", which is very good.
- I've been making multiple edits a day since first posting this
- (dec 6th - havent been using this at all lol, something is wrong, this post is boring to read and come back to)
Root node -- feedback loops
One important thing that distinguishes a feedback loop from a mess, is that in a mess, the subcomponents don't influence future events: they are only outputs of the system, not inputs to it.
Another difference is that in a mess, the subcomponents don't get updated over time, they're just lying around being messy.
Defeating addictive algorithms -- healthy energy funnel
An excerpt from something I wrote once:
Youtube doesn't want you to be happy, or motivated to get back to work, or to leave you satisfied after you get some joy from a video. It wants to keep you on the website for as long as possible.
The algorithm is not your friend, and the developers aren't either.
Most of life takes place in the digital world.
The actions you can take are designed by other people, the objects you encounter are chosen by algorithms designed by other people, and so is the shape that those objects take.
I want control over my digital life. I don't want it to be in the hands of the people who create apps and websites, nor in the Eldritch tendrils of the recommendation algorithms.
Simply having a healthy funnel for my random bursts of mental energy and random thought-avenues, is a huge deal for mental health, because the algorithms, predictably, don't make me happy.
This post has the chance of being the central hub of a long term project that is really good for me, and that I'm constantly excited to return to, that extracts energy from me more powerfully than other addictions do.
Why publish
Since this is fundamentally designed to be an evolving post, I doubt it'll ever be polished, so I'll just make it available right from the start, lol.
When it's not public, I also tend to add personal notes and tend to not worry about it being hard to read. But it should be nice to read! This is really important for it being a "root node".
Predictions for this post
19-11-2024
It'll be tempting to just keep adding shit, which is why I need a rule or some kind of pressure that keeps it small. (Me actually re-reading this post over and over is one of the mechanisms that creates a feedback loop, which I don't do if it's too long.) I'll also need to "refactor" stuff into self-contained posts. If I don't do these things, this project will just die.
If successful, I'll have a lot of content online, which some people (including myself sometimes) will wonder if it's a waste of time. And then I'll remind those people of the chapter about healthy energy funnels [LW · GW] :)
I'll have a better understanding of how to make philosophical progress, how writing affects my life and mental health, and then write Shortforms on these topics.
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